The attacks against the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001 was added to this list.
Every event since the Twin Towers bombing has been and is
labeled "post-9/11."
The Passover Massacre of Mar. 27 in Netanya,
which killed 29 people and injured more than 150, became for
me the most infamous of events. It changed everything.
In that one horrible event, we glimpsed prophecy
on the horizon: a rise of anti-Semitism at a level not witnessed
since the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism is now fashionable, as
illustrated by the remarks of the French ambassador to Britain
who referred to Israel as "that shitty little country."
Unprecedented anti-Semitism has traveled
across the globe as synagogues have been burned and Jews beaten.
Canada, Tunisia located in northern Africa and European countries,
such as France and Britain, have experienced a rise in anti-Semitic
incidents.
Outbreaks have even occurred on American
college campuses, including the University of California at
Berkely.
As my family held our Passover seder, I realized
we could have been victims of the Passover Massacre. In that
moment, we were no longer Messianic Jews [a Jewish branch
of Christianity retaining their Jewish customs]. We were simply
Jews, and my heart was filled with grief for the entire Jewish
community. My heart was heavy, as if a close friend had died.
I waited for world and Christian outrage
over such a grievous attack on the most sacred holiday in
Judaism and Christianity.
This was no mere homicide bombing. This was
a defiant against the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and
an insult to His Son. Surely the connection would be made
between Passover, the day of Israel's redemption from Egypt,
and Passover, Yeshua's Last Supper.
The silence was deafening.
During the days and weeks that followed,
I realized this transcended Israel. The global Jewish community
once again stands alone. I also stand alone, not only as a
Jew, but as a Messianic Jew. I shared my feelings at a Christian
businessmen's breakfast on the Friday after the Massacre.
Their response was wonderful. They prayed for me and many
called their Jewish friends to express their sorrow and sympathy.
One businessman from another Christian group,
Clay County in Unity, went so far as to organize a proclamation
of churches and individuals in Clay County, where I live,
who support Israel, the Messianic Jewish community and the
Jewish people.
Unfortunately, this was a lone event. Life
continued as usual for the vast majority of Believer and their
church leaders. What they did not understand was this: If
they could not stand up for the Jews in Israel now when it
is safe, they will never stand up when the danger hits excruciating
levels, despite their good intentions.
In the April issue of Charisma magazine,
two Arab Christians argued that Israel was not entitled to
its land, and all covenants with Israel had been transferred
to the Church. Stephen Sizer, a prominent Christian leader
in England, has confessed that even the promise of the land
to the Jews had been inherited by Christians.
Christians claim the Church's hostility had
nothing to do with Israel's behavior toward Palestinians.
The true reason for the spreading antipathy is that
anti-Semitism is rooted deep in Christian theology. [The author
is talking about "Replacement theology", dating
back to Origen and amillennialist interpretation of eschatology,
which is commonly held by the Greco-Roman branch of Christianity
and reformation churches of Europe and England.]
The Passover Massacre changed
me. As a Messianic Jewish leader involved with reconciling
the Church, Messianic Jews and Israel, the hard reality hit
that only a few will stand and persevere with us. As Messianic
Jewish leaders, we live in both the Christian and Jewish world;
we live in both the Christian and Jewish world; sometimes
it is hard to maintain balance. The balance was forever tipped
after the massacre when I realized my primary calling was
to my people. I need to stand with them.
The Passover Massacre was a slap across the
face of God and Yeshua. The god of Islam threw down the gauntlet,
saying, "You cannot deliver your people." This is
a war between the God of Israel and the gods of this world,
as depicted in Scripture.
Ezekiel 9 describes angels with writing instruments,
marking the foreheads of the intercessors. We are in a similar
time period when the angels are recording whether or not the
people, nations and the Church support Israel and God's chosen
people, the Jews.
The angels of destruction are not far behind.
--------------------------------------------------------
Robert Cohen pastors Beth Jacob Messianic
Congregation in Jacksonville, Florida, and is the chairman
of the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and
Synagogues.
